People looking for crime scene cleanup in Pomona, California probably have a lot of questions. This is especially true for people who may not have heard much about crime scene cleaning before and aren’t exactly sure what it entails. Some people believe that cleaning up a crime scene is simply a matter of scrubbing the space really well with good cleaners and disinfectants. It’s actually nothing like that. Cleaning up a crime scene takes a lot of dedication, experience, technical know-how, and grit.

If you’re looking into crime scene cleanup, we can help. Before you get into the process of hiring a crime scene cleaning company, it’d be best for you to understand exactly what they do and why they’re so important.

What does crime scene cleaning do?

When a traumatic event takes place in which someone is hurt or killed, biohazardous waste is left behind. Biohazardous waste and infectious waste contains bloodborne and airborne pathogens like viruses and bacteria that cause diseases in humans. That waste must be removed from the room before it can be used again. In addition to the waste being removed, the surfaces that the waste touched must be cleaned and sanitized until no evidence of pathogens remain. If the room is not properly sanitized, it poses a severe risk to anyone entering it in the future.

With crime scene cleaning, crime scene cleaners come in with their tools and special cleaners and remove all pathogens from the site. Only then can the room be used.

Cleanup can take anywhere from a day to a couple of days.

When crime scene cleaners walk into a site, they take an assessment of the whole space. With this assessment, they’re able to determine how big the space is, how much of the space has the most waste, how big the team will need to be to clean the space properly, and how long the cleanup should take. 

Particularly violent crime scenes can take as long as two or longer days to clean up. At some of these scenes, everything in the room has been affected by biohazardous waste, including elements like curtains, flooring, lighting, wall outlets, and many other items are located in the room.

Blood and fluid-soaked surfaces like flooring, carpeting, and curtains will need to be removed and discarded. Body tissue that was not removed by the coroner could also remain. Some crime scenes are just simply so involved that it may take time to go through the entire site, but the cleaners are used to this. They’ll make the time until every surface is spotless and sanitized.

All of this cleaning takes time if it’s going to be done properly.

The disposal of biohazardous and infectious waste is just as important as the cleanup of it.

When a crime scene cleaner removes biohazardous waste and infectious waste from the site, he can’t simply dump it into a garbage can. The state of California and OSHA has outlined specific ways that biohazardous waste must be disposed of.

When crime scene cleaners collect the waste from a site, they place them into special bags or containers that are built to hold in the waste so that it doesn’t leak out and contaminate other surfaces or people. Crime scene cleaners have special permits that allow them to properly transport and dispose of waste. Medical waste is usually incinerated at a medical waste facility. If the amount of biohazardous waste collected at a scene does not meet the minimum amount necessary to be incinerated by the medical waste facility, the cleaning company will have the waste stored in refrigerated facilities until they have enough to have it incinerated.

Crime scene cleaners also clean non-crime scenes.

Crime scene cleaners are also called on to clean scenes that aren’t crime scenes. For instance, they could be asked to clean up the site of an industrial accident. They are often called in to help cleanup with meth labs. Both of these types of sites have biohazardous waste that is toxic to humans. Meth labs in particular are filled with highly toxic substances that can cause death if not handled properly. Crime scene cleaners can handle it all.

The people who own the site where crime took place are responsible for having the site cleaned.

Many people don’t realize that they are responsible for cleaning up a crime scene located on a property that they own. A lot of people assume that it’s the responsibility of law enforcement. Others assume that maybe there’s a special city agency that takes care of cleanup. The responsibility for cleanup falls to whoever owns the site.

If you’re concerned about the cost associated with crime scene cleanup, check your insurance policy. Many insurance policies cover these costs or at least a portion of them. There are also city organizations that help with providing funding to people who need help cleaning homicide scenes or other scenes where a violent act has taken place. If you need help navigating the financial aspects of crime scene cleaning, give us a call so that we can answer any questions that you have.

Crime scene cleaning allows people to focus on other aspects of moving forward with their lives.

Crime scene cleaning is extremely difficult, even for people with the strongest constitutions. Some people may be able to handle the physical aspects of the crime scene, but they freeze when handling the emotional side. With some people it’s the exact opposite. Crime scene cleaners are able to handle all aspects of the cleaning while holding onto the ability to remain detached from the site. This allows our clients to focus on whatever else they need to do, allowing us to become a perfect team. 

Give us a call if you need help with the whole crime scene cleaning process. We can walk you through the steps so that you can make the decision that works for you.